Pride
by water wolf 100
Summary: Still plagued by memories from inside the virtual reality during the events of Race, Tory has made it her mission to find Andrew Thimba. With so many pieces to this puzzle, Tory and her pack will need to be careful. They might end up uncovering something they didn't want to.
1. Prologue

Prologue

I hadn't been expecting this. As crazy as my life was, standing here like this still resided in the realm of impossible. But, here I was.

Cooper snarled, his teeth exposed. This didn't deter the two figures across from us to advance slowly. There was no way for us to escape. We were trapped. Hunted. The brick walls of the ally rose too high to have a prayer of climbing. I glanced behind, trying to see if there was a chance of making a run for it.

A third person blocked my only other way out. There went that plan.

Behind my sunglasses, my golden eyes shone furiously. If this was where I met my end, I would go down with a fight.

* * *

**I promised a sequel. And a sequel there shall be. Please enjoy my second installment of this little adventure. **

**Peace out,**

**Wolfe **


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Hands down, worst movie I have ever seen." Hi angrily tossed his empty popcorn bag in a nearby trashcan.

"Dude, did you really expect anything more? It was two hours of chick flick," Shelton reasoned. I flashed a grin. The only person to notice was Ben, who rolled his eyes and said nothing.

I caught up to Hi and Shelton, stepping between the two of them. "Do you two bozos have any clue how many hours of geek squad approved movies I've had to sit through since we've met? This barely chips the iceberg of my revenge.

"Now that's not fair. You loved the Matrix," Shelton argued.

"And you watched all the Star Wars movies with me. In one sitting," added Hi.

I looked back to Ben, pleading silently for some help. A smirk in my direction was my only response. I was on my own.

"In my defense, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a boss. Anyone who doesn't like his stuff needs to reevaluate their life. As for Star Wars…I grew up on those. You didn't introduce me to anything new. But excluding those, let's take a count of how many other ridiculous, low budget, B level films I've had to sit through. Two hours of something I chose doesn't come close to being equal."

"Point, set and match," Ben finally said.

I fell back, satisfied that I had shut them up for the next few minutes. In my pocket my phone buzzed. Fishing it out, I knew it was Kit checking up on me.

Ever since the boys rescued me from a madman named Andrew Thimba two weeks ago, Kit had been keeping an extra close eye on me. Not that I blamed him. I had vanished without a trace for a week. All the while I had been kept in a false reality designed to keep me trapped inside. Through our flare power, superhuman gifts caused by genetic mutations in our DNA, my friends were able to get me out. Kit knew very little of that. If he did, I would be getting more than check-up texts every few hours.

I shot a reply and turned my attention back to the boys. We meandered through the parking lot towards Ben's Explorer. The nearest movie theatre sits too far inland to take Ben's runabout, Sewee. Now that most of us have reached the golden age of sixteen, we just hop in a car whenever we want to see a flick.

The drive from Morris Island to James Island takes fifteen minutes by car. Not terrible as far as I was concerned. But, going by car just isn't as much fun as skipping over the open waves on a boat.

I claimed my usual spot in shotgun. The engine rolled a few times, but kicked to life. Ben pulled from the parking lot and onto the street. A few turns later and we were merging onto 171 towards Morris.

For a second time my phone buzzed. "What could Kit possibly want now? If it's to tell me Whitney is staying the night I'm sleeping in the bunker," I said, irritation growing with each thought. Whitney was my dad's blonde, overbearing, ditzy, excuse for a girlfriend. Her life goal was to turn me into a lady. A notion I rejected completely.

The text wasn't from Kit. A familiar name glowed up at me from the screen. Jason Taylor.

My school's "it boy". Jason was the complete package; handsome, charming, smart, rich, an all-around good person, and to my disdain, my not so secret admirer. I groaned. Since word got out about my abduction and miraculous return Jason had doubled his attention on me.

Tonight's attempt was a party invitation. That was the third one that week. Each time I managed to come up with an excuse as to why I couldn't go. I felt bad about avoiding him. Jason was nice, but I had too many things on my plate to think about relationships.

"So who's heart are you breaking tonight, TB?" Hi asked, leaning forward in his seat. "Jason? Again?"

"Buzz off, Hiram. I'm turning him down. As usual." I came up with an excuse in fifteen seconds. My fastest yet. Tonight it was I promised Kit I'd help him clean his office.

"He's going to keep trying, Tory. You have to know that." Shelton tried to be helpful, but his words made it worse.

"Of course I do. And as long as we don't have to go to school, I'm going to keep avoiding him." I put my phone on silent. No more distractions for this girl.

Ben was the only one who hadn't said anything. I glanced at him. His eyes were locked on the road in front of us. His knuckles wound so tight around the steering wheel that his hands were trembling. If there as one person who got more annoyed with Jason's crush on me than me, it as Ben. The two were fire and ice. I'd given up long ago trying to convince them to get along. It wasn't happening. Nor would it ever.

"Maybe he'll get the hint by fall and stalk someone else." I desperately tried to lighten the mood. Didn't work.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" I thanked Hi silently for changing the subject.

"Meet in the bunker at noon," I reminded him. "It's BYOL. Bring your own laptop."

I took a deep breath. A few days after my recovery from my kidnapping and release from the hospital, Shelton discovered something freaky. About six months ago a boy had been abducted from New York. A week later he was found wandering the streets, claiming that he had been trapped in a virtual reality the entire time.

I learned months ago that if something seemed like a coincidence, then it probably wasn't. I didn't get the luxury of coincidences in my life. Not anymore.

Even after Shelton scoured articles for three days on this boy from New York, we knew next to nothing about him. The first article we read identified him as fifteen year old Anthony Oliver from Queens. His mother, in an interview, described him as a quiet boy, with a tight-knit group of friends, and wasn't the kind to get into any kind of trouble.

Every article Shelton found said basically the same thing. So now we were forced to dig deeper. Anthony was the key to finding Thimba. I felt it in my gut. Then we could find Thimba and before he found us.

His last words still echoed in my mind. Gazing into his emotionless eyes, Thimba was taunting me.

"_I seem to have underestimated the power of your pack. So this is good-bye. For now. We will meet again."_

Thanks to his virtual reality, Thimba now knew everything about us. And that was bad news. The Virals had some deep running secrets. Any one of them could be used against us and it would be over.

I had since made it my personal mission to find Thimba before he found us. This clown threatened my pack, my friends, and I wasn't going to sit idly and let him get away with it.

"What do you want to find?" Ben asked. We had crossed the bridge to Morris Island.

"I'll be happy with anything."

The Explorer slowed to a stop in front of the Blue's townhouse.

To an outsider there was no way to tell one house from another. Our slice of the world consisted of ten identical homes lined in a block. Reserved solely for employees of Loggerhead Island Research Institute, or as it was locally known, LIRI. My dad, Kit Howard, was the director of the entire facility. The perks? Bragging rights galore. Drawback? According to Whitney, my actions not only reflect myself and Kit, but LIRI as a whole.

"I've gotta jet," Hi said opening the door. "I'm on strict orders to be home for chores." The door slammed and Hi disappeared into the dark.

We remaining three got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk. Shelton muttered a good-bye and started for home. I contemplated for a moment if going home was worth my time. Whitney would be probably be there, and I wasn't sure how I felt about listening to her lecture about being out after dark with three boys.

I glanced at my watch. Barely quarter after nine. The sun had set long ago, but as far as I was concerned it was still early. Kit would be on my side as long as I was home before ten.

"Cooper is probably dying to be let out," I said. "I'm going to go grab him and go for a walk."

"I'll go with you," Ben offered. "Beats sitting home doing nothing." We walked down the wooded sidewalk. We hadn't reached my house yet when I noticed Whitney's car parked in front of my house.

_Blargh _

"The Babbling Bimbo has decided to grace my house with her presence tonight I see." My voice dripped with loathing and disdain.

"I think I'll wait out here while you grab the mutt," Ben mused. I didn't blame him. While Kit had no problem with us hanging out together, Whitney saw Ben as my one way ticket to social destruction.

_News flash, Whit. I don't give a crap what you think. _

"Be out in a flash." I bounded up the steps. Before my hand touched the doorknob I heard desperate barking from inside. Cooper knew I was here.

I opened the door and my wolfdog leapt out of the house, and nearly knocked me over. I rubbed his ears and pushed him away.

"Tory, is that you?" Kit called from the kitchen.

"Yeah. Just came for Cooper. I'm taking him for a walk."

"All by yourself?" Whitney's Southern drawl filled the room. "It's not proper for a lady to be out at night, unescorted."

"Well no worries then. Since Ben will be with me." Whitney gaped at me, momentarily flustered.

"Be back by curfew." Thank you Kit, for seeing things my way.

"Sure thing. Bye." I left without another room. Whitney hadn't even recovered from her surprise by the time I shut the door.

Ben was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. He affectionately rubbed Cooper on the back of his head. "That was fast," he mused when he saw me come down the steps.

"Yep. Don't know how easy it will be when I get back though. With any luck, she'll be gone when that happens."

We started off towards the beach. The moment Cooper's paws hit the sand he took off like a bullet train. Something over a dune caught his interest and I saw his hulking frame slip over the top and out of sight.

The air was heavy tonight. A storm was coming in. Gusts of hot air surged in from the ocean. I slipped a hairband around my knotted red mop, hoping to contain the frizz.

The sensation of the world right before the storm is something that could never be explained. I felt on the edge of the world, inches from toppling over. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. The ocean has a power that demands respect.

My mind drifted to a memory of a different storm. The surge of a storm pounded on the side of the boat. My hair clung to the sides of my face masking my vision. I looked over the raging water to see Cooper helplessly floating in the water. Ben jumped in after him, disregarding his own safety.

It wasn't often that memories of my week in my alternate reality surfaced. I did a pretty good job of burying them. Every once in a while, something would pick at the wall holding them back, and things would run out like an open floodgate. This was one of those moments.

I froze in the sand. My hands flew to my head as I squeezed my eyes shut. Once they started, the memories had a hard time stopping.

My body trembled. I knew where this was going. There were things that I didn't want to see. The memories I buried the deepest.

"Tor?" Ben called to me. He took my shoulders and repeated my name. The boys had all seen my episodes. They never pried into what they were about. Some details I still hadn't told them yet. I wasn't ready to admit them myself.

I shoved the memories back away. Each one clawed, trying to come back out. Instead I focused on what I knew to be reality. It was the only way to make it stop.

When I felt I had some control again I opened my eyes. I was no longer standing, but kneeling in the now cool sand. Ben was beside me, hands still gripping my shoulders.

"I'm OK," I said softly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah…maybe…" My body continued to shake like a leaf. That didn't surprise me. My trips down fake memory lane usually left me shaky and disoriented for several minutes.

Neither of us moved. I tried to gain composure and shove the memories deeper down inside. Maybe keeping it buried like I did is what caused these panic attacks. I wasn't sure, but I did know that I wasn't ready to tell the boys how my time in the fake reality ended.

No one but me knew this, but I still had nightmares of that moment. When my world stopped turning. Blair Nova, the enemy generated by my subconscious, shot and killed Ben. Nope. Something I wasn't ready to deal with.

When I stopped trembling Ben helped me to my feet.

It had started raining. I hadn't been aware of it until just then. I laughed when I noticed Ben's hair plastered to his face. It reminded me of Cooper when he got a bath.

"Laugh it up, Brennan. Just wait until you see what you look like."

"Can't wait." I whistled for Cooper, who came bounding over the beach. He stopped beside me and decided then to shake excess water from his matter fur.

"Ugh, thanks for nothing, mongrel." Ben stepped away from Cooper in disgust.

"Trust me, it didn't make much difference. Ready to head up?"

"Yeah."

"Race you to the sidewalk." I took off running before Ben could answer. Cooper yelped as he tore after me. Ben brought up the rear.

My lead didn't last long. "You're legs are longer," I reminded him when I met him in front of my house.

"Excuses." We both laughed.

I trudged partway up the stairs. "See you tomorrow?"

"Bunker. Noon. I've got it." I grinned, nodded, and turned to head inside.

"Tory?" Ben called after me. I looked back at him. In the glow of the floodlights I saw the concern tracing his eyes. "You're sure you're OK?"

I paused, unsure of how to answer. Ben could read me like a book. "I will be." That was the best answer I could give him.

He smiled. "See you tomorrow then."

With a final wave I turned back around and opened the door. Cooper shoved in past me, excited to get out of the rain. I took one final look back to see Ben jogging to his own house.

I sighed, frustrated at how complicated things were, and stepped inside.

* * *

**And here is the first full chapter to Pride. Not much action, but it sets up a few things that will become recurring themes in the story. Now, on to more serious business. If I was to make several stories following this plot line, including other multi-chap stories, one shots, drabbles, etc, I feel like a series name is vital. So here is my question, well two questions: Do you like this idea? Me making multiple stories that tie into this central plot line? And, if I did, what are some suggestions for calling it? Something cool of course. If I like the title, then it'll become official and I will make an announcement. So, thanks for sticking with me for a second story. **

**Peace out,**

**Wolfie **


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning the four of us sprawled out around the Bunker. It was time to find information about Anthony Oliver. The most obvious place to start was Facebook.

After fifteen minutes I sighed in frustration. "This isn't getting me anywhere. Do you have any idea how many Anthony Oliver's there are on Facebook?"

"Probably fewer than the ones listed in the phonebook," Hi mused. Using the names of Anthony's parents from the news article; Hi was trying to narrow down where in Queens he might live.

"You're both wasting your time," Shelton said. "There's no way you'll find anything like that."

"Then what are you doing, smart guy?"

"I took the picture from the first article and ran it through a facial recognition program. It'll scan the Internet for anyone with similar facial features."

"How does that help narrow it down? There could be a thousand people who have 'similar facial features'. Heck, he looks like a young Nicholas Hoult!"

"Who?" Ben asked, not looking up from his laptop.

"The Beast."

"Still not ringing any bells."

"From X-men? You went with us to see the movie!" I thought back to when I saw X-men with the boys when it first came out. I vaguely remembered a guy that turned into a raging beast. Or maybe that was the Hulk. I got them mixed up sometimes. Marvel wasn't my thing. DC all the way for this girl.

Hi and Ben continued their conversation about the movie, and who Nicholas Hoult was.

Shelton remained uninterested in the debate. I moved to the empty seat beside him, looking to see what he had found.

"Any luck with that program of yours?"

"A little. I can weed out what I know is wrong as it comes up on the search. This is the most promising so far." Shelton clicked on a photo of a group of five kids, two boys and three girls. One of them looked a great deal like the picture of Anthony Oliver we found on the first search.

"It's from an online yearbook. Grover Cleveland High School, in Queens."

"Can you get anything else from it?" I leaned forward in my seat. This might be our breakthrough.

"A caption from the yearbook, but that's about it. To see the whole thing you need to be a student from the school. Let's see…'friends Anthony O., Aiden M., Rachel F., Charlotte M. and Gabrielle C. enjoys a relaxing morning on the front steps'."

"That's all you can get?" While it wasn't much to go on, it was more than we had before.

"Ask me again in twenty minutes. Now we know what school he goes to."

"What are we planning to do when we do track him down, Tory?" Ben asked, ending his debate with Hi. Apparently they had been listening to some degree the entire time.

"Ideally? Get in touch with him and see if his story checks out. If what happened to him is the same as what happened to me, he might know more than we do."

"Or he can be a fruit loop," Hi unhelpfully offered. "We've taken some stabs in the dark, but this is like a blindfolded blind man at midnight trying to shoot a target half a mile away."

"Your confidence is overwhelming, Hiram."

"I'm just being realistic."

"Well, go be realistic over there." Shelton pointed to a chair on the opposite side of the bunker. "You're distracting me."

Hi stopped talking, but remained in his seat.

Waiting for Shelton to finish his hacking magic, I decided to be productive and run another search on virtual reality technology. I'd see plenty of movies that contained the idea of being in a virtual reality, but I never imagined that the technology could be real. Not to the extent that I was in. Thimba's program convinced me that it was real, and I had no way of knowing that it wasn't. To my knowledge, that was impossible.

As I poured over articles I let my mind drift to my time before being kidnapped. A lot of it was a gray blank, but pieces would come back if I sat and concentrated.

I left Bolton early. That day, like many in late spring, was rainy. I remembered feeling the steady rain soak through my blazer as I walked down the street. Everything after that was still a mystery. And it frustrated me to no end.

"Tory?" Hi asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I turned to look at Hi. He eyed me carefully.

"Shelton's got a plan." I refocused quickly. Now wasn't the time to be daydreaming.

Shelton cleared his throat. "So, what I want to do is kinda illegal, but it'll give us everything we need."

"Famous last words." Ben sported a smirk.

"Shut up." Shelton glared icily at Ben. "Anywho. Since I'm pretty sure this is what school Anthony goes to, I can hack into the school's systems and pull his file. Once I have it I will know everything about him."

"Please don't tell me how you do it." Hi held his hands up. "I don't want to be called as witness when they catch you and charge your ass with cybercrime."

"Are you sure you found the right kid? This is some serious stuff, Shelton." My voice quivered with tension.

"It looks like the same kid from the article. But beyond that, no, I have no way of knowing for sure."

The boys looked to me. Moving forward was my decision. If something went wrong, it would be on my shoulders. Deep down I knew that finding Anthony was the key to tracking Thimba. The boys all knew it, too.

"Do what you need to." My decision was final. Shelton nodded and went back to his computer.

While Shelton worked the rest of us slipped outside. When hardcore hacking was going on, it was best to leave him alone.

The sun beat on the back of my neck. We were only a week into summer vacation, but Lowcountry weather didn't heed to my school's prescribed break time. The scorching rays today mirrored what we would be facing the next two and a half months.

"Now what? Shelton's going to be held up in there all afternoon." Hi gazed longingly at the ocean.

I grinned, liking the way he was thinking. The water was an inviting relief from the heat of the day.

Letting out a war cry, if the warrior had severe asthma, Hi stormed for the water. Ben and I followed in pursuit.  
I stopped shin deep and let the water lap at my legs. Remnants from the storm the night before, pieces of drift wood and clumps of seaweed, brushed against my calves.

Ben and Hi were out farther, goofing around in the cool water. As I watched them, an unsettling feeling grew in the pit of my stomach. Despite the heat, I felt a chill run down my back.

I flipped around and scanned the beach behind me. Nothing stood out. Besides the four of us, no one knew this bunker existed. So why did I have this chilling feeling that I was being watched?

"Tory! Can you give me a hand?" Back in the water, Ben and Hi were having some kind of wresting match. Well, it was more like Ben and Hi in a headlock. His arms flailed uselessly as he tried to break free of Ben's iron grip.

Forgetting the strange feeling I had, I ran out to join the boys. Chalking it up to paranoia and stress I spent the next hour playing in the water. For a little while longer I wanted to convince myself that everything was all right.

Even though deep down I knew it wasn't.

* * *

**Not sure how I feel about this chapter. The first few might be slow until things get moving. I don't want to rush into the story, so please stick with me. I've got some great things planned for this story. Hopefully you enjoyed it to some degree. **

**~Wolfie**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After waiting for an hour, Shelton was no closer to getting into Grover Cleveland High School's systems than when he started.

"I want to meet their IT guy," Shelton yelled in frustration. He tipped back in his chair and rubbed his temples.

"If anyone can do it, Shelton, you can." I put on a winning smile and tried to be encouraging.

With a grunt he placed his fingers on the keyboard and went back to work.

"You guys don't have to hang around here," Shelton offered between keystrokes. "I work better alone anyways. Go do something fun."

"Are you sure?" I asked. I felt guilty about leaving Shelton to do all the work on his own.

"Positive. Get out. And if you see my parents, make something up."

With a nod to Hi and Ben, I stood up. "We'll see you later then." Shelton waved and we left the bunker.

"Now what?" Hi asked. "Pretty sure the sun fried my brain when we were out in the water."

"Let's head for home, I guess. I want to be close by if Shelton figures anything out." Two agreeing nods and I started up the dune for home.

Our bunker was great to have, and the fact that it was all our own made it even better. But, the trek across the island to get to it left something to be desired. Usually we took Seewee around and saved time, but today we opted to walk. Big mistake.

"New rule." Hi was panting as we crossed yet another hill. "No more walking to the bunker. Ever. Period."

"Suck it up, wuss," Ben called back. A lifetime of being outside and active from dawn til dusk left Ben more than capable of crossing the islands with ease.

I'm not in horrible shape, but even I had to admit that walking across burning sand hills in summer is taxing on energy. I wiped sweat from my forehead, knowing that by now I looked like a boiled lobster, and tried to catch up with Ben.

The townhouses were in sight. And better yet, so was the boardwalk. Easy going from there on. This late in the afternoon everything was still. All the residents on the island were LIRI employees, so they were at the institute. A few members in our little community, like Ruth Stolowitski, didn't hold a position and were home most of the day. But today, everyone was inside. The only moving things around were the three of us walking home.

I froze. The feeling returned. A primal panic rose in my chest.

"Tory? You OK?" Ben asked, returning to where I stopped.

"Something doesn't feel right." I looked around. There was still no sign of anyone near us. Not that my human eyes could see.

"Don't feel right, like you're going to be sick?" Hi had caught up.

"No. Like _our_ kind of feeling something." My eyes hadn't broken from the beach to our right.

"Oh."

I slid my sunglasses from the top of my head to my eyes. "Time to light it up, boys."

I focused, channeling the power within me. A spark in my brain, and the wolf came out.

**SNAP **

The change in my brain came as a shudder. Instantly, the world around me changed.

Everything focused with astounding clarity. I could see petals of the flowers on the Stolowitski's house. The scent of seaweed clouded my nostrils. Out in the open water, I picked up the sound of a ship horn.

Turning, I looked at Ben and Hi. Both of them sported sunglasses.

"So what are we looking for, TB?" Hi asked. He trained his eyes on where I had been looking. With Hi's phenomenal eyesight, I knew that he could see what was out there.

"Not sure. Just a feeling I had, like we weren't alone. I felt it on the beach earlier, too."

"And you didn't say anything?" Even though I couldn't see Ben's eyes behind his shades I knew he was staring at me, studying me.

"I thought I was just being paranoid."

"There's a lunatic out there somewhere!" Hi said. I could sense his nervousness. "Your instincts are almost always spot on. So, if you felt someone watching you, good chance there actually was."

"No one would be dumb enough to track us out here in broad daylight," I countered. "And Thimba is a smart man."

This wasn't the time to have this discussion. I wanted to find the source of my unease. Whatever it was, it was out here somewhere.

My gaze fell on a large patch of Beachgrass about fifty feet away. Motioning for the boys to be quiet, I took tentative steps towards it.

A light breeze crossed, making the grass move in wisps. I inhaled deeply. A barrage of scents entered my nose, but I filtered out each one. There was a smell that I could not recognize.

Each step brought me closer. Ben and Hi were on my heels. It was now or never. I crouched low, ready to pounce on our unwanted visitor. Inside the brush I heard a slight scraping sound. There was no denying someone was there now.

Three steps.

Two steps.

I extended my arm.

"Victoria!"

The sudden call started me. Snapping around I lost my balance and fell into the sand. Disoriented momentarily I thrashed my arm towards the grass.

"Victoria!" the voice called a second time. It was the last voice I wanted to hear.

On the boardwalk stood Whitney. Her pink sundress blew in the breeze. A hand shielded her eyes as she looked out to me. With my flare power I could see her in perfect clarity.

Ben extended his hand and helped me to my feet. "You OK?"

"Not really." I looked towards the bush one last time. Whatever had been there was gone. We were alone again.

"Tory!" Whitney called for the third time.

"Coming," I muttered. "Party's over."

**SNUP**

My flare passed as easily as it had come.

Marching back to the boardwalk I tried to mask the sour look on my face. Kit hadn't mentioned that Whitney was coming. I'd kill him for it later.

"It's not polite to keep someone waiting, Tory," Whitney scolded when I reached her. Behind me I heard Ben and Hi snicker. In that instant they made my kill list as well.

"I wasn't expecting you today, Whitney."

"Oh I know, sweetie. I thought while your daddy was at work you and I could go into town for some girl time. Maybe pick out something cute for you to wear to dinner tonight."

"Oh wow, Whitney. As fun as that sounds, the boys and I had something planned for the rest of the afternoon." My lie was smooth. All I needed was Ben and Hi to not screw it up.

Hi cackled behind me. "You go, Tor. We can manage without you."

I spun around to face him. My eyes locked with his.

"Oh, goodie!" Whitney squealed. "Come on, darling. Say good-bye to your little friends and let's go back to the house. You can change and we can head out!"

Without waiting for me to protest, Whitney strode off towards my house. Out of ear shot, Ben and Hi erupted into laughter.

"You're both dead to me." I glowered.

"Come on, Tor. Go with her for the afternoon. It'll get your mind off things. The three of us can hold down the fort until you get back." Ben flashed a cocky grin.

"Yeah," Hi added, "Go buy dresses and other girly things. We manly men will do what we do best while you're gone." I rolled my eyes.

"Fine. Text me if anything happens." I took a few steps. Stopped. Turned around. "By the way, Shelton is now my favorite."

I left Hi and Ben standing there. Grumbling, I made my way to my house and stormed up the stairs. Whitney was waiting for me at the door.

"You know, Tory. A lady usually doesn't go traversing around with two boys in the sand. What were you doing anyways?"

"Nothing. So what are we going to be doing?" I wanted to get this nightmare over and done with as fast as possible.

"Oh, of course. Well tonight is a very important night, so I think we should all look our best. We will find you a dress, get our nails done and maybe do something about your hair."

I fought the urge to punch something. "I'll go dress shopping. I'll even get my nails done. My hair stays the way it is. Deal?"

A sigh. She wasn't happy. Not that I cared.

"Hold on," I asked. "What's tonight?"

"Don't you remember, sweet pea? Tonight is your father and I's third anniversary. I reminded you two days ago."

A vague memory crossed my mind. Whitney was at my house, as usual, and she was going on and on to Kit about where they should go for their anniversary dinner. Somehow I got roped into going along. As a result I had to spend the better part of my evening with Whitney, when I should be helping the boys search for Anthony.

"Tory, are you listening?"

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Go upstairs and put something cute on. A lady…"

"Shouldn't walk around in a tank top and shorts," I finished.

I'd heard the lecture a thousand times. Basically every day during the summer Whitney told me to dress girlier. I told her that what I wore was more practical. Dresses and being outside all day don't mix.

Whitney waited downstairs while I went up to put something 'appropriate' on. Stuffed in the back of my closet was a yellow dress Whitney bought me for my birthday. The tag was still on it.

Changing out of my sandy clothes I slipped the dress on and pulled my hair into something resembling a bun. Glancing in the mirror I decided that it would have to do.

Descending the steps, Whitney squeaked in excitement when she saw me. "Sweet pea, you look adorable! Now let's go!" She took my hand and dragged me out the door.

On the forty minute drive into town I got updates on Shelton's work. Things were going well, and if it kept up, we would have everything we needed by dinner.

"What do you think, Tory? I want your honest opinion." It dawned on me that Whitney had been talking to me the entire time. She was expecting me to answer, and I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Sure, Whitney," I said, hoping agreeing was a good idea. "It sounds great."

"I'm so glad you think so. That makes me so happy." She beamed at me. A sliver of panic slid through my stomach. Whatever I had just said was obviously important. Hopefully I wouldn't regret it later.

After a lifetime of listening to the local cotillion gossip from Whitney, we reached downtown. Exiting 71 at King Street, we made our way towards Calhoun Street. A few blocks up from it, Whitney pulled into an available parking spot.

"We're here!"

I looked out the window. A multistory brick building loomed over me. A set of beautiful French windows with a balcony took up the space of the second story front. Squished between a pizzeria and a men's clothing store, the Copper Penny sat with open doors, inviting inside happy patrons.

"Come on, darling, you'll love it here."

"Somehow I doubt that." I made sure to mutter softly. Whitney had the hearing of a bat.

Inside the store the air was much cooler. Racks of dresses, fancy tops and skirts sprawled from the front to the back of the shop. To my left was a single cashier around Whitney's age.

She was us walk in and ran around to greet us. "Whitney DuBois! To what do I owe this surprise?" the woman, whose nametag read Daisy, asked.

"Daisy, this is Victoria, Kit's daughter. We're out doing some shopping for tonight."

"It's Tory," I corrected. Daisy stuck out her hand. A goofy smile sprung on her face. I took it and nearly had my arm yanked off.

"Whitney had told me so much about you, but I had no idea you were this pretty. She's like a baby doll. I'm so glad to see my dresses have been going to good use."

A bell went off in my head. This was the friend Whitney got all my deb dresses from. This trip was turning from bad to worse. Simply based on the thirty seconds I'd spent in the shop, I knew these two women were going to parade me around like a show pony in ridiculous dresses.

"So where are you off to tonight for dinner?" Daisy started pulling dresses off of shelves. My opinion was counting for less than nothing on this adventure.

"Circa 1886."

I was floored. This was the first I had heard of where we were going. To say that it was a fancy restaurant was an understatement. Hi once told me it was the only place in Charleston where you could get twelve dollar macaroni and cheese. Not only that, but it would be so good that you wouldn't mind the price.

Kit's not a cheapskate by any means, but this was an entirely new level for him.

"Well." Daisy's voice was muffled. "You'll need something lovely, sweetheart." She appeared from the racks with an armful of dresses.

"None of these will compare to your cotillion dresses, but I think you'll find something in here you'll like." Whitney took the dresses from Daisy, placed them in my arms and shoved me towards a dressing room.

I stared at the dresses, unsure of where to start.

Whitney called to me through the door "Just come out when you have the first one on!"

Fantastic. I had to try on every single dress in this monster of a pile.

I yanked the yellow monstrosity off and selected the top dress in the pile. Tight. Bleck. Lace. Double bleck. Fire truck red. This dress was a triple nightmare.

Taking a deep breath I opened the door and awaited my punishment. Whitney and Daisy fussed for a good five minutes while I stood there, my skin turning as red as the dress from embarrassment. They ultimately decided that it wasn't right form me and banished me back into the dressing room.

This process repeated for another eight dresses. Each one was paraded, analyzed, and finally rejected.

The process was becoming mentally exhausting.

To my relief I noticed I was at the last dress. The final one fell to my knees, didn't feel like I was being constricted by a snake, and was a deep emerald green. Of all the dresses I tried on, this one I hated the least. I almost liked it. Not that I would tell Whitney and Daisy that.

When I opened the door and faced Whitney, I thought I saw a tear or two in her eyes. "Oh, daring, you look beautiful."

The two women walked in circles around me, heaping compliments on how good I looked in the dress.

"What do you think, Tory?" This was the first time my opinion had been asked.

"It'll work." I just wanted to go home.

"We'll take it." I sighed. The nightmare was coming to an end.

While I changed back into my own clothes, Whitney stormed around the store searching for shoes to go with the dress. By the time I emerged, she had a box tucked under her arm.

"Is there anything else you want to look at?" she asked.

"Nope."

"Can you put these on my tab, Daisy?"

"Sure thing. You two enjoy the rest of your day. And Tory, you will look beautiful."

"Thanks." I glanced down at my shoes.

"All right. Let's get going!" Whitney hooked her arm through mine and led me out of the store.

We stopped at the car and I did a quick phone check. One new text. Hopefully it was good news.

"Well, are you ready to go get our nails done?" Whitney asked.

I ignored her and opened the text. It was from Ben.

_Get back here ASAP. Shelton found something. _

My heart sprung to my brain. It would have kept going, but my skull kept it in place.

"Whitney, I can't."

"Can't what?"

"Go to get my nails done. I have to get back to the island."

"Whatever for?"

I scowled. My lie would have to be good. I couldn't use Kit as an excuse; she would ask him about it. And telling her the truth would be useless.

I had one option. I didn't like the idea of it, but getting back to Morris was more important than my dignity at the moment.

"It's just," I began slowly, trying to choke on my words. "Being out here around all these people…it makes me wonder if the man who took me is out here. He could be watching me, and I wouldn't even know it."

"Oh, Tory," Whitney cooed. She came around to stand by me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. "I know this has been hard on you. But you're perfectly safe."

I turned my face from her. "It's just so terrifying to know that he is still out here. Can we please go home? I'd feel better there."

"All right. Let's get going." Whitney opened the car door and I slid in.

While she walked around to the driver side I texted Ben that I was on my way back. I'm almost positive I set a new record in speed texting.

The drive back to Morris seemed to take longer than coming out. Whitney spent the entire time 'comforting' me, and saying how no one was going to let anything happen to me.

I kept silent. Instead I wondered what was so important that Shelton found.

With any luck it would tell me where to find him.

* * *

**Longest chapter yet! Woohoo! There's a reason for it. Tomorrow I will be getting a new video game and I'll have to divide my time between writing, playing it and working. So updates will be slightly less frequent. I can probably go down to about a chapter a week. So sorry, but my quest to become a Pokémon master will be restarting sometime tomorrow. Hopefully the length of this chapter is enough to compensate for knowing my posting rate will go down slightly. As always, please leave a review.**

**For now, peace out,**

**~Wolfie**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Whitney had barely parked the car when I flung the door open and started for the house.

"Tory, where are you going?"

"To clear my head. I'm going to take Coop for a walk."

My puppy was waiting for me at the door. He squeezed past me waited while I unchained my bike. Walking back to the bunker wasn't an option. Coop trotted along as I peddled down the boardwalk. Which I discovered was very hard to do in a dress.

The boys were waiting for me.

"What did you find?" I asked, getting off my bike. From the urgency of Ben's text I knew that this was big.

"There's something I need to show you." Shelton's voice quivered slightly.

I left my bike on the boardwalk and we jogged down to the bunker. Cooper yapped loudly, thinking this was a new game. We ducked inside and gathered around Shelton's laptop.

"I hacked into the network of the school Anthony goes to. Turns out, ever since his vanishing act a few months ago he's been getting into a lot of trouble. Grades plummeting, getting detention left and right, and all around general delinquency."

"What was he like before then?" I peered over Shelton's shoulder to study the screen. Every class he cut, failed grade he earned, and detention he spent was before me. Further down the page were scans of behavior reports and sessions with counselors. I recognized them immediately. After my mom died I had to spend three months going to Bolton's counselor to talk about how I was adjusting.

"His record was cleaner than my house before my grandmother visits. Typical All-American kid. Honors society, played baseball, and was in two or three clubs during the year."

"So his missing week really screwed him up then," Ben mused.

"Apparently. According to the notes form teachers and counselors, they recommend he be tested for a psychotic break."

"What about that picture we found earlier? The one with the other kids in it. Does it say anything about them?"

"Yeah, actually. A few notes here and there that he is tighter with his group of friends than ever before. But none of them have these problems. They're all good kids from what it says here."

"So we know that he was majorly messed up by this. So why was he taken? What makes Anthony Oliver important enough to Thimba for him to be abducted?"

"Rewind your thought train, Tory," Hi said slowly. "We don't know for sure that Thimba is even related to this kid."

"Do you really believe that? Because I sure don't. You know as well as I do that something doesn't line up here. And I intend to find out what it is. If Thimba did what he did to me to someone else, I won't stop until I find them. And then I'm taking Thimba down." My voice rose steadily in anger and frustration as it filled the bunker.

Hi blinked. I regretted snapping at him, but thinking of Thimba and what he did to me sent me into a downward spiral of emotional mess.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, Hi. Something in my gut is telling me Anthony is connected somehow. And until I find him, I know that Thimba will always be one step ahead of me. After what he did I can't let him get away with that."

"We know, Tor," Ben said slowly. "And trust us when we say that we are going to do we can to help you find him. Thimba will learn that when you go after one of us then you go after all of us." I nodded.

"Hey guys," Shelton muttered. He nervously tugged on his earlobe. "There's something I just found. And you won't like it."

We gathered around the laptop. My heart stopped beating as I read the words on the screen.

Five teens reported missing from Ridgewood, Queens

As I read the article panic stirred deep in my chest. Anthony Oliver was one of the five. Him, and his four closest friends were all reported missing three days ago.

"Damn," Ben grumbled.

I ignored him and kept reading. The article talked about how the group of five had been last been seen boarding the subway leaving Queens at different times in the day. None of them had been seen since.

"Still think things aren't connected, Hi?" Shelton asked.

"I'm starting to believe otherwise."

My mind bounced through a dozen different possibilities. Did Thimba find Anthony and his friends? Were they on the run? Where would they go if they were? Obviously nowhere their families or the police thought of.

A series of beeps emanating from my watch refocused my attention.

"Crap!" I was so wrapped up in everything going on that I forgot about the time.

"Something wrong?" Shelton asked.

"Guys, I've gotta jet. Stupid dinner with Kit and Whitney." I started for the door. "Text me if anything happens."

Ripping my sandals from my feet I tore across burning sand to my bike. Cooper chose to not wait for me and galloped towards the house.

By the time I reached the house I was drenched in sweat. My hair, long fallen out of the bun, lay plastered to my forehead and back of my neck. Classy.

Letting Cooper in, I shouted to Kit and Whitney that I would be in the shower. I used my precious moments of peace to clear my mind. I needed a break from the hunt from Thimba, and as much as I didn't want to go, this dinner was my one opportunity.

I entered my room feeling refreshed and sweat free. The dress I bought with Whitney was waiting on my bed, pressed and paired with shoes and jewelry.

Letting the towel my hair was wrapped in fall to the floor I ran a brush through the tangles and let it be. I prefer the air-dried look.

I dressed, got ready and finished my hair with five minutes to spare. Before I went downstairs to be cooed over, I took a final glance in the mirror. Thanks to the low humidity in the air today, my hair dried in flowing waves instead of its normal frizz puff. One less thing for Whitney to comment on.

"Tor? Ready to go? We don't want to miss our reservation." Kit had never been overly punctual, so his desire to be on time surprised me. He was pulling out all the stops for Whitney tonight.

"Coming!" I had a momentary debate on brining my phone with me, in case I got a text from the boys. But I decided against it. Dinner wasn't going to go very late and I would check it the moment I got back home.

Kit and Whitney stood in the doorway when I came downstairs. Kit dusted off his only suit and looked rather uncomfortable in it. I didn't blame him. He looked as out of place as I felt.

Whitney sported a second skin, short, pink dress with heels that could possibly be a registered lethal weapon. When she saw me her eyes lit up like fireworks.

"Tory, you look absolutely precious!" I mumbled thanks and gave a pained look at Kit.

"Well, we better get going." I followed them to the car. Driving away I looked back in the direction of the bunker. I would have given anything to be out there with the boys looking for Anthony and Thimba.

The drive downtown gave me thinking time. What we needed was a plan. A way to track down Thimba, find Anthony and discover how the two were connected. All we had to do was get a starting point. Easier said than done.

Shelton had yet to find a scrap of proof that Thimba existed. We had done numerous searches on the technology he created, but came up with nothing but movies and conspiracy theorists ramblings.

"You feeling OK, kiddo?" Kit asked. "Whitney said you had an incident this afternoon."

"I'm fine. Just thinking about some plans the boys and I were coming up with."

"I hope these are appropriate activities for a young lady," Whitney retorted.

I smirked. If only she knew the half of it.

The remainder of the car ride was filled with idle chatter between Kit and Whitney. They occasionally pointed a comment or question in my direction.

We had only left twenty minutes ago and I already regretted not brining my phone. Too late now. All I could do was suffer through this dinner, get home, and start thinking about our plan of attack for finding Anthony.

"We're here," Kit exclaimed.

Circa 1886 is a restaurant built out of an old carriage house from 1886. The owners clearly weren't the creative types. Three stories of brick towering trees greeted us as we entered the front courtyard. Two curved, cast iron staircases led up to the front door.

From the street I could hear chatter of people inside. The night was warm and the doors and windows of the restaurant were open, creating an undeniable beacon to the building from foot traffic.

At the door a man in a tux greeted us warmly and asked for our names. He glanced at a list and led us to a table in the back of the restaurant.

Tablecloth covered table spread across the room, each with a vase of flowers and two candles. Above my head were chandeliers that bathed the room in a golden light.

Kit pulled out a chair for Whitney, and then for me. As I sat a kid a few years older than me came and presented Kit with a wine menu. I ordered an ice tea and he left.

The flowing thirty minutes were painstakingly tedious. Kit selected wine, it was brought to the table, we ordered an appetizer of sweetbreads and assorted dips, ate that and finally our waiter came to take our main order.

Two thirds of the things I had never heard of before, but I had no problem with trying new things. I decided on a pork chop which cost more than any of my recent clothing purchases.

As we ate the three of us had amicable conversation.

"Tory, what did you and the boys do today?" Kit asked me between bites.

"Hung out mostly. We were thinking of heading out to LIRI one of these days. Of course, if we got permission from the director." I grinned in spite of myself. Kit still got flustered at times when someone reminded him of his position.

"You know the rules."

"Don't bug anyone, break anything, or cause mischief in general. I know the drill."

Whitney huffed. She hated the idea of me 'traversing around a dirty island' with a 'gaggle of gawking guys'. All the more reason to bring up going out there in front of her.

Kit set his fork down and cleared his throat. Whitney and I both looked at him.

"Tory, Whitney, there is something I want to bring up with the two of you…"

Kit never got to finish his sentence. Out of nowhere, a jolt of primal energy surged through me. I jumped out of my seat, knocking over a glass of water. My eyes darted around the restaurant. A number of people stopped what they were doing to glance at me.

No matter where I looked, I couldn't find the source of the sensation.

"Tory? Are you all right?" Kit stood beside me. His hand rested on my upper arm, but I didn't respond. I knew the feel that burned in my stomach. The wolf was clawing out. If I didn't get away soon, everyone would see me flare.

"I need to use to restroom." I brushed Kit's arm off and on careful legs made my way to the bathroom. Eyes bore into the back of my neck. Two waiters stepped out of my way as I weaved through the crowded tables.

I had to get away. Too many people.

The bathroom was empty. I froze in front of the ornate mirrors. Nothing could hold it back anymore.

**SNAP **

My mind burned.

When I flared one of two things happened. It either came as a whisper, the transformation clicking into place like a lock. Other times it was more a spark, a jolt of electricity that raced through me. Momentary pain came with the latter, but it faded as quickly as it came.

This flare was different. The stabs of pain behind my eyes sent me to my knees, gasping for breath. The first time I flared didn't hold a candle to this pain.

Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead as I fought for control. I focused on one sense at a time. My vision cleared first. The room sharpened with unimaginable clarity. Each gentle whisper of sound magnified in my ear canal. Lastly my smell roared to life and I could distinguish each kind of perfume and cologne in the restaurant, amid all the other scents of food, sea air, and car exhaust from the surrounding areas.

The pain lessened. I found myself able to breathe again. I rose to my feet and looked at the girl in the mirror. Her hair spun out of control, flying into a thousand different directions. Lips parted slightly as if tasting the air. Her eyes danced in golden light filled with terror and amazement. This girl was Viral. She was me.

Footsteps traveled towards the ladies room. I spun in a circle as I looked for an escape.

I shut myself in a stall as the bathroom door swung open.

* * *

**Time for excuses. I said I would only be gone two weeks or so. Well, that didn't happen. I played my game, got a new job, and lost quite a bit of motivation in general for working on this story. That is until a few days ago when I got the most wonderful PM from ForeverSavior, telling me how good my story was. It reignited my interest in this piece and I am ready to get back into writing for it. So, thanks ForeverSavior, you rock so much for this! This chapter is dedicated to you. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and will enjoy all future chapters to come. **

**Peace out,**

**Wolfie**


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